The invention relates to a shaving apparatus having a housing and a shaving head, a hair-collecting chamber for collecting hair cuttings being situated between the housing and the shaving head, which shaving head has a holder which holds at least one shaving unit comprising an external cutting member and a drivable internal cutting member which cooperates with said external cutting member, which shaving apparatus has a drive unit including a drive member having a longitudinal direction, which internal cutting member has been provided with a coupling element adapted to be coupled to the drive member, and which holder is connected to the housing by means of a hinge construction.
The afore-mentioned shaving apparatus is known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,032,873. Such a shaving apparatus is to be cleaned at regular intervals. For this purpose, the hair-collecting chamber is opened by pivoting the holder away from the housing. After cleaning the holder is pivoted back onto the housing, upon which the internal cutting member should again be coupled to the drive member. The coupling element of the internal cutting member is formed by a coupling aperture which is engageable over the drive member. Coupling is not a problem as long as the pivotal axis of the hinge construction is situated at a comparatively small distance from the plane in which coupling is effected. However, in practice this distance is such that the internal cutting member may not be coupled correctly to the drive member because the internal cutting member is then moved towards the drive member in a position which is inclined too much and, as a result of this, the coupling aperture of the internal cutting member does not engage over the drive member but assumes a position slightly offset from this drive member.
It is an object of the invention to achieve that uncoupling and coupling of the drive member and the coupling element of the internal cutting member in a shaving apparatus proceed faultlessly.
To achieve this object the invention is characterized in that the hinge construction is such that during opening of the hair-collecting chamber, in a first stage, the holder performs a movement with respect to the housing, which movement is oriented substantially in the longitudinal direction of the drive member and is directed away from the housing. Uncoupling as well as coupling of the internal cutting member and the drive member is effected during said first stage of the movement of the holder with respect to the housing. In this first stage the movement of the holder with respect to the housing is now substantially rectilinear, as a result of which the coupling element of the internal cutting member moves away from or towards the drive member with a substantially rectilinear movement rather than with a comparatively short pivotal movement, as in the known shaving apparatus. This automatically provides a correct coupling.
The movement in the first stage is substantially in the longitudinal direction of the drive member. xe2x80x9cSubstantiallyxe2x80x9d is to be understood to mean that the movement need not be a purely rectilinear movement but may alternatively be, for example, a rotary movement with a comparatively large radius of curvature. The movement with a comparatively large radius of curvature is a close enough approximation to a rectilinear movement to guarantee a correct coupling.
Preferably, such a shaving apparatus is characterized in that, for opening the hair-collecting chamber, the holder performs a pivotal movement with a comparatively small radius of curvature with respect to the housing in a second stage following the first stage. This enables the hinge construction to be comparatively simple and compact.
For the purpose of cleaning it is desirable that the holder remains in a certain open position. For this purpose a further embodiment comprises locking means for locking the holder against pivotal movement at the end of the second stage.
It is also desirable that the holder can be removed completely from the housing. For this purpose the holder performs a further pivotal movement, during which the holder is unlocked from the housing, in a third stage following the second stage.
A preferably used embodiment is characterized in that the hinge construction has an arcuate limb and an arcuate guide which cooperates with said limb, which limb has a first limb portion having a comparatively large radius of curvature and, adjoining the first limb portion, a second limb portion having a comparatively small radius of curvature, and which guide is formed by walls of the guide projections, at least one first wall having a comparatively large radius of curvature for cooperation with the first limb portion and at least one second wall having a comparatively small radius of curvature for cooperation with the second limb portion. Viewed from the position in which the holder is mounted on the housing and the hair-collecting chamber is to be opened, the holder is first pivoted over a comparatively large radius of curvature, during which the internal cutting member is disengaged from the drive member and is subsequently pivoted over a comparatively small radius of curvature in order to open the hair-collecting chamber completely.
In a further embodiment the locking means are formed by a projecting portion at the free end of the second limb portion and, cooperating therewith, a recess of the guide projection.
A further embodiment is characterized in that two identical hinge constructions have been provided, which hinge constructions are spaced at a distance from one another and are arranged symmetrically with respect to one another, the holder having two supports which are spaced at said distance from one another and which each carry the arcuate guide comprising the guide projections, the supports being moved in a direction transverse to the pivoting direction of the holder in the third stage, the guide projections sliding over the arcuate limbs.
To replace the holder onto the housing it is favorable if he holder has been provided with two guide limbs which are disposed opposite one another for cooperation with corresponding recesses of the housing. The holder can then be slid into the recesses with its guide supports and can subsequently be attached to the housing with a substantially straight movement, i.e. nearly without a pivotal movement. The parts of the hinge construction then automatically assume the correct positions. Moreover, the guide supports may be provided with latching means for latching the holder to the housing.
Yet another embodiment is characterized in that the housing has a chamber adapted to hold an additive container, which container has an outlet for an additive, which shaving apparatus further comprises a pump having an inlet, which can be connected to the outlet of the additive container, and having an outlet opening, which holder has a dispenser channel having an inlet opening to which the outlet opening of the pump can be connected and through which the additive can be dispensed by means of the pump, the dispenser channel having a longitudinal direction which is oriented parallel to the longitudinal direction of the drive member. Since the direction of movement of the holder in the first stage is oriented substantially parallel to the dispenser channel this automatically results in a correct connection as well as a correct disengagement of the connection between the outlet opening of the pump and the inlet opening of the dispenser channel. This provides a proper connection which is free from leakage. A shaving apparatus having an additive dispenser is already known per se by the name of Philishave xe2x80x9cCool Skinxe2x80x9d, type number HQ 5620, available from Philips since the spring of 1998. By means of this shaving apparatus an additive is applied to the skin during shaving, as a result of which an improved shaving performance is obtained. It is very important that the hair-collecting chamber and the shaving unit or shaving units of such a shaving apparatus are rinsed with moderately warm water at regular intervals, preferably immediately after use.